Natural History Wanderings

Blue Ridge Parkway Fall Colors Tracker

Quick Summary Update – October 2, 2015

Near Peak, but very colorful ( 50% to 75% )

• Graggy Gardens area
• Higher peaks of the Southern Region south of Mt Pisgah.
• Graveyard Fields <= This weekend’s best outlook
• Most elevations above 6000′.

Patchy, but not green (  10% – 50% )

• North of Boone / Blowing Rock area traveling into Virginia.
• Boone / Blowing Rock area including Price Lake and Moses Cone Manor.
• Upper Grandfather Mountain
• Linn Cove Viaduct / Lower Grandfather Mountain south to Crabtree Falls
• North of Asheville to Craggy Gardens
• South of Asheville to Mt Pisgah
• Valleys of the Southern region south of Mt Pisgah.
• Most elevations in the range from 2500′ to 6000′.

Unchanged ( less than 10% color )

• Roanoke & James River Areas
• Asheville and the French Broad River Valley
• Most of the Parkway in Virginia
• Long range views off the eastern and western escarpment.
• Most elevations below 2500′.

Complete details are in the full report below.  As we get additional reports we will continue to update this page, so check back often. Really often.

Full Report Details – October 2, 2015

In North Carolina from Moses Cone to the Minerals Museum, the fall color is really beginning to show along the Parkway.

Linville Falls is already making a bit of headway, showing about 25-30% change of color. Heading south from Linville Falls towards Chestoah View at Milepost 320, vibrant reds, multiple shades of yellow, and oranges are making their appearance, showing about 25% of color.

Further south towards Crabtree Falls at Milepost 339, trees along the Parkway are changing as well. The maples are displaying an array of reds, while the elms are showing off some bright yellows.

Around Green Knob, down in the valley, color is beginning to take shape, showing about 20-25%. Also in this area, fall blooms of asters, goldenrod, giant sunflower, bull thistle, and Asiatic dayflower can be seen.

The high elevation of Craggy Gardens is approaching its peak of fall color, showing yellows, golds, rust, and some orange as the yellow buckeye, beech, birch, and mountain ash trees have changed quickly.

Just below Craggy Gardens from 3,000 feet to 5,000 feet, the color change is between 30-50% depending on where you are viewing. The lower elevation of Asheville is still predominately green, with about 10-20% color change. Aster and goldenrod blooms are still common in this area.

Driving from Asheville south to the Mt. Pisgah area, fall color is starting to be seen in the changing red oaks, tulip poplar, dogwoods, maples, sassafrass, poison ivy, and virginia creeper. Mt. Pisgah is experiencing 30-40% change of color.

At the southern end of the Parkway, Graveyard Fields remains the area with the first and most advanced color change, at about 75%. The rest of the southern end of the Parkway is about 50% color change at the higher elevations and closer to 30-40% in the lower valleys. Blooming asters, goldenrod, gentian, andlobelia can also be seen.